THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY’S EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, AND RESEARCH

How will the Trump Presidency effect the world of science, such as the environment, the space program, and scientific research? It’s still too early to tell, but some of his anti-regulatory agenda may very well impact the environment in order to create new jobs, and more fuel for the United States.

Last March, Trump stated that if elected, he would only keep a small portion of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. The Agency sets rules and regulations for regulating air,land, and water pollution. With his call to return jobs to the US, deregulation could cause pollution standards to go down the toilet. One of the main reasons companies have left for other countries is the because environmental laws here are very strict.

Trump has stated that he wants to complete the Keystone pipeline, and today he signed a bill finalizing it. Trans Canada has agreed to negotiations to allow border cooperation in the project, although there are still some issues as to how. He hasn’t totally abandoned alternative forms of energy like solar and wind, just said he wants to tap oil and coal reserves first, so we don’t rely on foreign countries for energy. He has vowed to repeal the US’s position about climate change, along with 195 countries who agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Trump is also at odds with abortion activists, sexual education instruction, and contraception at the taxpayers’ expense, and has vowed to overturn legal abortions and teach abstinence as the general rule, which we all know, doesn’t necessary always work either. He has said that some vaccinations already in production need more research to prove if they really work, and vowed to repeal Obamacare.

He has stated NASA will prosper under his term, as funding will go to boost the space program by making NASA an interplanetary organization, going to the far reaches of our solar system. The first 100 days will determine if he is a man of his word, or just offering false promises, like so many politicians before him.

Like him or hate him, he has big dreams. It will be up to the Senate and Congress to determine if those dreams will become realities, and with the ball in the Republicans’ court, it will be interesting to see how it pans out-or not.